When to plant pumpkins in Bakersfield: 2 April – 19 August

In Bakersfield, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 29 January to 8 July; plant into a greenhouse from 12 March to 19 August; plant out into open ground from 2 April to 19 August.

Pumpkin in Bakersfield: soil, season and weather

In Bakersfield the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 2 April, 45 days later.

Last spring frost	16 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	2 April, 45 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	14 December, 256 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	16 June – 2 November
Days left for picking	181
Daylight	11:03 on 19 February, 12:36 on 2 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

The same dates in Bakersfield hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini and Watermelon.

Pumpkin in Bakersfield: care after planting

Planted on 2 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

23 April — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of pumpkin to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Bakersfield during the pumpkin season

About 136 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (0 mm) and December the wettest (50 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	27.2	11.5	24	4	13:04
May	31.6	15.7	11	2	14:01
June	37.3	20.3	1	0	14:32
July	40.7	23.7	0	0	14:20
August	39.5	22.7	6	0	13:31
September	35.7	19	4	1	12:26
October	29	12.7	7	1	11:20
November	21.2	6.9	33	4	10:19
December	16.3	4.3	50	6	9:47

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Bakersfield, Las Vegas is 1 day earlier and Santa Barbara 42 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Santa Barbara	122 km	14 May – 20 August	42 days later
Fresno	168 km	10 April – 10 August	8 days later
Riverside	217 km	2 April – 24 August	same day
San Jose	338 km	from 25 April	23 days later
Stockton	352 km	24 April – 8 August	22 days later
Las Vegas	361 km	1 April – 17 August	1 day earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Bakersfield

Buy plants ready to set out from 2 April to 19 August (from 12 March to 19 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 29 January to 8 July. Within 15 km of Bakersfield OpenStreetMap lists 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Haggin Oaks Farmers Market — market
Ming Avenue 8800, 93311 Bakersfield · 8 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions